Full Text: Gov. Ted Strickland, Ohio State of the State, January 28, 2009 | Ohio’s Economic Future & A New Plan for Education
Filed under: Education, Education Funding in Ohio, Gov Strickland, Health Care, State of Ohio Budget, State of Ohio Govt
(Source: Office of the Governor)
Governor Strickland’s 2009 State of the State address
I’d like to first recognize that one of Ohio’s great leaders, Senate President Bill Harris, was not able to be with us today. I know that he is in all of our thoughts and prayers, and we wish him a very speedy recovery.
Speaker Budish, Senate President Pro Tem Niehaus, Leader Batchelder and Leader Cafaro, Lt. Governor Fisher, statewide elected officials, members of the Cabinet, members of the General Assembly and the Supreme Court, distinguished guests, First Lady Frances Strickland, and my fellow Ohioans…
There was a time when Ohio State University played its football games on a dusty field surrounded by a humble collection of wooden bleachers.
Back then, OSU played teams from universities and small private colleges. They even scheduled a game against the soldiers from an army camp in Chillicothe.
Just after World War I came to an end there was a painful combination of high inflation and high unemployment that produced economic misery in Ohio and across the nation.
It was a truly frightening moment – hardly the time for a bold new idea.
Full Text: President Barack Obama Inaugural Address | January 20, 2009
(Source: McClatchy Newspapers – As Prepared for Delivery)
My fellow citizens:
I stand here today humbled by the task before us, grateful for the trust you have bestowed, mindful of the sacrifices borne by our ancestors. I thank President Bush for his service to our nation, as well as the generosity and cooperation he has shown throughout this transition.
Forty-four Americans have now taken the presidential oath. The words have been spoken during rising tides of prosperity and the still waters of peace. Yet, every so often the oath is taken amidst gathering clouds and raging storms. At these moments, America has carried on not simply because of the skill or vision of those in high office, but because We the People have remained faithful to the ideals of our forbearers, and true to our founding documents.
So it has been. So it must be with this generation of Americans.
Text: Pastor Rick Warren, Inauguration Invocation | January 20, 2009
(Source: Christianity Today)
Let us pray.
Almighty God, our Father, everything we see and everything we can’t see exists because of you alone. It all comes from you. It all belongs to you. It all exists for your glory.
History is your story. The Scripture tells us, “Hear O Israel, the Lord is our God. The Lord is One.” And you are the compassionate and merciful one. And you are loving to everyone you have made.
Now, today, we rejoice not only in America’s peaceful transfer of power for the 44th time. We celebrate a hingepoint of history with the inauguration of our first African American president of the United States. We are so grateful to live in this land, a land of unequaled possibility, where the son of an African immigrant can rise to the highest level of our leadership. And we know today that Dr. King and a great cloud of witnesses are shouting in heaven. Read more
Full Text: Obama Transition Office Report on Contacts with Blagojevich
Click Here for PDF of the Obama Transition Team’s Report
Text: Statement by Federal Reserve Board of Governors on Cutting Federal Funds Rate to Near ‘0′
Filed under: Recession, U.S. Economy, U.S. Financial Crisis
(Source: Board of Governors, Federal Reserve System, December 16)
The Federal Open Market Committee decided today to establish a target range for the federal funds rate of 0 to 1/4 percent.
Since the Committee’s last meeting, labor market conditions have deteriorated, and the available data indicate that consumer spending, business investment, and industrial production have declined. Financial markets remain quite strained and credit conditions tight. Overall, the outlook for economic activity has weakened further. Read more
Full Text: Auto Industry Bailout Bill | Auto Industry Financing and Restructuring Act – HR 7321 | House Version
Filed under: Bailout Bill, Big Three Automakers, U.S. Congress, U.S. Economy
Click Here for PDF of Entire Bill HR 7321
Text: Ford CEO Alan Mulally Testimony to Senate Banking Committee | Big Three Bailout | December 4
Click Here to Read Mulally’s Testimony (PDF)
Text: UAW President Ron Gettelfinger Statement to Senate Banking Committee | Auto Industry Bailout Hearing | December 4
Cick Here to Read Gettelfinger’s Testimony
Full Text: Government Accountability Office Report on Bailout (TARP) Accountability, Transparency and Integrity
Full Text: Commission on the Prevention of WMD Proliferation and Terrorism | World at Risk
Click Here for PDF of the Report
Full Text: Ford, GM, Chrysler Business Plans Submitted to Congress
Click Here to Read the Business Plan Submitted to Congress by Chrysler
Click Here to Read the Business Plan Submitted to Congress by Ford
Click Here to Read the Business Plan Submitted to Congress by GM
Full Text and Video: President-Elect Obama Weekly Radio Address, November 21 | Stimulus Would Create 2.5 Million Jobs by January 2011
President-elect Barack Obama’s weekly radio address promises what sounds like meaningful economic stimulus – should Congress cooperate once he takes office. In the text and video below you’ll see his sights are set high – creating 2.5 million jobs in two years. I hope he and his advisers are thinking about beginning to rebuild this country’s infrastructure. It’s amazing to look around today and think about the public works projects that surround us which came from the 1930s, ’40s and ’50s. Fifty to 70 years later it’s time for re-engineering and rebuilding. It’s also time for investment in the “green” economy so many politicians are promising and we need to ensure prosperity and security in the future.
Video below and full text of Obama’s remarks after that.
(Source for Video and Text: Official Presidential Transition Site, change.gov)
Good morning.
The news this week has only reinforced the fact that we are facing an economic crisis of historic proportions. Financial markets faced more turmoil. New home purchases in October were the lowest in half a century. 540,000 more jobless claims were filed last week, the highest in eighteen years. And we now risk falling into a deflationary spiral that could increase our massive debt even further. Read more
Full Text: President Bush Radio Address, November 22 | Will Support a Big Three Bailout
Filed under: Big Three Automakers, Bush Foreign Policy, U.S. Congress, U.S. Economy, U.S. Financial Crisis
If GM, Chrysler and Ford get their act together they may get their taxpayer loan yet. President Bush says today in his weekly radio address that he will support their bailout under what sounds like reasonable circumstances. The genie is already out of the bottle – the federal government is already propping up other private sector interests, why not three that could be engines of a real economy and not a paper economy.
Click “Read More” for the president’s full remarks:
Text: Henry Paulson Testimony before House Financial Services Committee | November 18, 2008
Filed under: Bailout Bill, U.S. Congress, U.S. Economy, U.S. Financial Crisis
(Source: U.S. Treasury Department)
Click this link for PDF of Sec. Paulson’s Testimony
Text: Summary of Auto Industry Rescue Bill – U.S. House Financial Services Committee
(Source: U.S. House Financial Services Committee)
Summary of Draft Auto Rescue Bill
Adds Title IV to the Emergency Economic Stability Act (EESA):
Emergency Direct Loan Program – Directs Treasury to make no greater than $25 billion total in loans to eligible automobile manufacturers no earlier than December 1, 2008. These funds will be drawn from the third tranche of the $700 billion provided under EESA without triggering the reporting and procedural requirements. Treasury will designate a portion of these funds as needed to meet applicants’ short-term liquidity requirements while they develop the long-term restructuring plan due on 3/31/09, and reserve the balance for long-term needs and implementation of restructuring plan.
Eligible Applicants
- Domestic automobile manufacturers producing in the U.S. continuously for 25 years or more.
- Treasury, in consultation with the Oversight Board described below, must make a determination that the failure of the applicant would have “systemic adverse effect on the overall United States economy.”
- Applicant must provide financial and other information as Treasury may require.
- Applicant must submit a short-term operating plan that describes planned use of the loan proceeds, including commitment of resources to develop long-term restructuring plan and reasonable prospects for repayment.•
Long-Term Restructuring Plan – Not later than 3/31/09, loan recipients must submit to Treasury acceptable restructuring plan for long-term viability and international competitiveness, including fuel efficiency standards and advanced technology vehicle manufacturing, rationalization of costs, and proposals for restructuring existing debt.
Oversight Board
- The Financial Stability Oversight Board (Oversight Board) established under EESA will provide oversight of the loan program, and will have four additional members for purposes of the loan program (Secretaries of Energy, Labor and Transportation and the EPA Administrator) in addition to the five existing members (Fed Chairman, Treasury Secretary, FHFA Director, SEC Chairman, and HUD Secretary).
Oversight of the Loan Program – Existing oversight provisions of EESA apply to the loan program, including GAO, Special IG, and Congressional Oversight Panel.
Allocation of Funds – Treasury, in consultation with the Oversight Board, will prioritize applications based on the magnitude of the impact of the applicant’s U.S. manufacturing operations on the overall U.S. economy.
Terms of Loans
- Term: 7 years (or longer as may be determined by the Oversight Board), subject to immediate acceleration if the recipient fails to submit an acceptable long-term restructuring plan.
- Interest Rate: 5% for first 5 years and 9% thereafter.
- Super Seniority: All other obligations and liabilities of a recipient will be subordinate to the loan.
- No prepayment penalty.
Warrants – Treasury must obtain warrants from each loan recipient (or economic equivalent in the case of a privately held firm) equal to 20% of the loan or such greater percentage as may be determined by Treasury in consultation with the Oversight Board.
Executive Compensation and Corporate Governance – All executive compensation restrictions from EESA apply to loan recipients for the duration of the loan plus the following additional restrictions:
- No bonuses to employees making more than $200,000 (which Treasury will adjust for inflation).
- No golden parachutes under any circumstances.
- No compensation plan that could encourage manipulation of reported earnings to enhance compensation.
Ability to Prohibit Transactions, Oversight of Financial Condition – For duration of the loan, Treasury in consultation with the Oversight Board will have the authority to review and prohibit any asset sale, investment, contract, or commitment proposed to be entered into by the recipient valued in excess of $25 million.•
Dividends – Recipients may not pay any dividends for duration of the loan.•
Full Information Access – Recipients are required to provide Treasury and Oversight Board access to all information that may be relevant to the loan to monitor the interests of the government under this title.
Acceleration of Repayment for Failure to Comply – Treasury may require, in consultation with the Oversight Board, accelerated repayment if loan recipient fails to submit an acceptable long-term restructuring plan or fails comply with any other applicable condition or requirement of the loan program or CAFE
